Harvesting Information

MÉTIS HARVESTING IN ALBERTA

Some Métis in Alberta are the beneficiaries of harvesting rights guaranteed by Section 35 of the Constitution Act, 1982. In 2003, these rights were the subject of the Supreme Court of Canada’s decision R v Powley. This document describes how these rights are currently recognized by the Province of Alberta:

Construction will begin in the area of the Highway 2 crossing near Slave Lake, south to the Athabasca River crossing, in August 2017.

Construction is tentatively scheduled to start in various locations between the Highway 2 crossing and Martin Hills Road (Townships 72 to 75) on September 25, 2017.During construction, vegetation removal will begin first, which will be followed by foundation installations, tower assembly and erection then stringing and finally construction reclamation. The initial construction of this portion of the line is expected to be completed by March 2018.

Construction is scheduled to start on February 01, 2018 south of the Athabasca River. Vegetation removal will begin first, which will be followed by foundation installations, tower assembly/erection, stringing and finally construction reclamation. Starting in late February, 2018, construction will begin south of Highway 43.

For further reference regarding the construction mentioned above, please see this 12L44 map (approved route). More detailed information regarding the West Fort Mac project is available on the Alberta Powerlinewebsite. When travelling near the right of way, please maintain a safe distance from any active construction sites and also be aware of access mats and various other materials that may be present in non-active construction sites.

For safety reasons, once construction activities commence in an area, Traditional Land Use activities such as harvesting and hunting will be restricted in and around the immediate area of active construction. However, areas that are not active work sites can still be utilized for Traditional Land Use activities during construction.